The Emergency Center San Antonio

Every patient who visits our emergency room for treatment will see a board-certified emergency medicine physician. We are staffed with board-certified physicians, ICU- and ER-trained nurses, and Radiology Technologists, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

At times, a patient will require several hours of medical evaluation, and this evaluation period is what is referred to as an “observation stay”. The Emergency Center can provide patients with up to 23 hours of observation care, and often, they can be treated and discharged from our ER without having to be admitted into a hospital.

The Emergency Center is a full-service, freestanding emergency facility. Our emergency room offers a variety of emergency services, including in-house diagnostic imaging, laboratory testing, cardiac monitoring and EKG, 3-day MedPacks, and much more.

Generally, loved ones are permitted to accompany a patient during their ER visit, however, during times of high patient volume and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions may apply.

The Emergency Center offers observation stays that enable doctors to monitor the patient’s symptoms and determine if hospitalization is needed. If a hospital admission is necessary, we can admit the patient and bypass the busy hospital’s emergency room, saving the patient hours of valuable, and potentially life-saving, time.

Yes, our board-certified emergency medicine physicians and ICU- and ER-trained nurses are equipped to address pediatric emergencies.

Our emergency center offers COVID-19 testing and symptom treatment, but we do not offer the COVID-19 vaccine. Please visit Vaccines.gov to find a vaccination location near you.

Yes, we have the ability to test all patients who present to our emergency centers with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or who have had a high-risk exposure to COVID-19.

Self-pay rates for The Emergency Center visits start at $500 (which includes all COVID-19 testing). Self-pay rates may increase for special imaging or complex patient services to $900.

If you ever have a question about your bill, please call Juniper Ridge RCM at 888-732-3317.

By state law your fully funded health insurance plan is required to process your ER visit at in-network benefit levels. Texas law (House Bill 2183, Sec 1451.457) requires all emergencies to be processed utilizing in-network benefits.

Yes, we honor most private and commercial insurance plans.

Freestanding emergency centers are, in many ways, just like hospital-based emergency rooms. There’s only one difference: they’re not connected to a hospital. Freestanding ERs offer many of the same services and have the same equipment as hospital-based ERs, without the long wait times.

Our board-certified emergency medicine physicians are experienced and qualified to treat a wide range of illnesses and ailments, including: abdominal pain, bone breaks and sprains, shortness of breath, head injuries, cuts and lacerations, burns, chest pain, allergic reactions, and more. Learn more about the emergencies we can treat.

The Emergency Center provides the same emergency treatment patients receive in traditional hospital-based emergency rooms. While the national average wait time to be treated in most hospital-based emergency rooms is 2-4 hours, patients at The Emergency Center will be seen immediately by a licensed physician or ER-trained registered nurse who will assess needs and begin care right away.

Unlike urgent care centers, freestanding emergency centers are open 24 hours a day – 7 days a week, have ER physicians on-site at all times, provide round-the-clock lab and imaging services, keep medications in stock, and are able to provide life-saving care immediately. Urgent care centers almost never have CT scanners, ultrasound, and full lab capability within their facility, but freestanding ERs are required to have these available at all times. As state-licensed facilities, freestanding emergency rooms must also train their staff at a level not required of urgent care centers.

The Emergency Center (TEC) is a fully equipped freestanding emergency facility. We are similar to, and in many ways, better than a hospital based emergency room. Our facility is staffed 24/7 with board-certified ER physicians, ER- and ICU- trained registered nurses, and Radiology Technologists. Just like hospital-based ER’s, TEC has an on-site lab and a full radiology suite equipped with 64- Slice CT, digital X-ray, and ultrasound.